User manual

MPLAB

ICD 3 IN-CIRCUIT

DEBUGGER USER’S GUIDE

Chapter 1. Overview

1.1 INTRODUCTION

An overview of the MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger system is given.

• MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger Defined

• How the MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger Helps You

• MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger Kit Components

• Device and Feature Support

1.2 MPLAB ICD 3 IN-CIRCUIT DEBUGGER DEFINED

The MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger is an in-circuit debugger that is controlled by a

PC running MPLAB IDE (v8.15 or greater) software on a Windows

platform. The

MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger is an integral part of the development engineer's

toolsuite. The application usage can vary from software development to hardware

integration.

The MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger is a complex debugger system used for

hardware and software development of Microchip PIC

microcontrollers (MCUs) and

dsPIC

Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) that are based on In-Circuit Serial

Programming™ (ICSP™) and Enhanced In-Circuit Serial Programming 2-wire serial

interfaces.

The debugger system will execute code like an actual device because it uses a device

with built-in emulation circuitry, instead of a special debugger chip, for emulation. All

available features of a given device are accessible interactively, and can be set and

modified by the MPLAB IDE interface.

The MPLAB ICD 3 debugger was developed for emulating embedded processors with

rich debug facilities which differ from conventional system processors in the following

aspects:

• Processors run at maximum speeds

• Capability to incorporate I/O port data input

In addition to debugger functions, the MPLAB ICD 3 in-circuit debugger system also

may be used as a development programmer.